


In These Arms, Part VIII: The City By The Bay

by mrpicard



Series: Star Trek: TNG - In These Arms [8]
Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: The Next Generation (Movies)
Genre: Dixon Hill Adventures, Holodeck Character, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-21
Updated: 2016-03-21
Packaged: 2018-04-21 09:19:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4823570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrpicard/pseuds/mrpicard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two husbands on a holodeck adventure.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This part takes place directly after the previous one.

 

 

Alex slowly ran his hand through Picard's chest hair. The captain was asleep - or so he pretended. Alex suspected that he had woken up the second he had been touched; after all, his job demanded of him to be a very light sleeper.  
  
"What is it you think you're doing?" Picard suddenly asked, his eyes still closed.  
  
Alex smiled innocently. "Oh, nothing. Just enjoying the view."  
  
Picard opened an eye. "The _view_."  
  
"Yup." Alex leaned down and planted a soft kiss on Picard's chest.  
  
The captain opened his other eye as well. "I must say, you have a rather... unique way of 'just enjoying the view'."

"Want me to stop?"

"Of course not."

"Good." Alex slowly pulled the blanket away and then began to massage Picard's cock through the tight Starfleet briefs. When it was fully erect, he gently pulled down the briefs and immediately closed his mouth around the swollen head. God, it tasted so good...

Picard bit his lower lip, raised his hand and ran it through Alex' short hair while the young bartender went up and down on his cock, tracing the veins with his tongue, savoring, obviously enjoying the feeling of the throbbing organ, the slight twitching, and, of course, the taste of the pre-cum that was already leaking. He began to pick up the pace and Picard bucked his hips involuntarily - all he wanted was more of the hot wetness of that wonderful mouth. His grip on Alex' head tightened slightly, and the young man understood.

He moved even faster, his lips sliding up and down on the now even larger and thicker erection. His fingers went over Picard's balls and when he felt them draw up, he began to suck Picard's cock even more forcefully until the captain could no longer hold back. He groaned loudly while the first rush of cum squirted into Alex' mouth, and the young bartender did not stop what he was doing; on the contrary, he remained right where he was until the very last drop of cum had ended up right where it belonged. Only then did he raise his head and smile at his husband.

Picard smiled back - and then his gaze fell on the huge bulge in Alex' boxers.

The young man looked at it as well. "Oh..."

"You know, I just realized how much I would like to enjoy a certain view as well," Picard remarked, his voice still a little shaky.

"Would you, now," Alex teased.

"Yes." Picard gently took Alex by the shoulders and pulled him up so that the two men were face to face. "What do you think?"

Alex slowly leaned forward and kissed Picard. The captain returned the kiss while his hand trailed down Alex' naked upper body, slid into the boxers and began to stroke the erection, his thumb gently squeezing the tip. Alex groaned into his husband's mouth as the kiss deepened. Picard suddenly let go, and used both hands to pull down the boxers. The two men broke their kiss and Alex fell back into the soft pillows while Picard began to nuzzle his neck. The captain's hand then closed itself around Alex' erection again and he resumed the stroking while he slowly trailed down the young man's body with his lips, teasing the nipples with his tongue for a few seconds before moving on.

When he had finally reached Alex' cock he stroked it even more forcefully a few times - and then he took the entire erection into his mouth in one quick move; he knew how much his husband enjoyed this particular technique.

Alex groaned and bucked his hips when he felt the wetness around him. What he had just done with Picard had been incredibly arousing already, and now that the man was working his magic on _him_ , he feared he would not last very long - a fear that was confirmed when Picard began to suck even faster than before. Alex panted loudly and then lost control, his orgasm washing over him, his cum squirting right into Picard's mouth. The captain swallowed all of it just as eagerly as Alex had a few minutes earlier, and he also waited until the last drop had ended up in his mouth before he withdrew and looked up.

The two men smiled at one another.

"I hope you're not planning on waking me up like this every night," Picard teased.

"I'd love to, but I'm afraid it wouldn't be very good in the long run - for neither of us," Alex panted. "Besides, we already have Laurent to wake us up every night."

"Indeed," Picard agreed. "I wonder how he's doing in sickbay."

"I'm sure Kate would've called us if she had run into any problems," Alex said and rubbed his forehead. "So... what do we do now? Go back to sleep?"

"'Mmm, I don't feel like doing that."

"Neither do I, actually."

Picard looked at the chronometer on Alex' bedside table. "It's almost 5.30. Since neither of us has any kind of morning shift, we could get up really early, take a shower and have a long breakfast."

"Now _that_ is something that I _do_ feel like doing."


	2. Chapter 2

Picard walked into his quarters and smiled when he saw Alex on the couch, a book in his hands. "Hello."

The bartender looked up and closed the book. "Oh, hey - you're back early."

"There wasn't much to do for a change," Picard said. "I was wondering... since Laurent will be in sickbay until this afternoon..." He broke off.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Yes...?"

"Would you... would you like to go to the holodeck with me?"

"Sure. The forest program?"

"I was... erm... more thinking of Dixon Hill, actually."

Alex frowned and put his book away.

"I was afraid you would react like this."

"Jean-Luc, you know that that I don't feel comfortable about visiting an era in which our relationship is illegal."

"And _you_ know that we can alter the program with a single command."

Alex sighed. "We've had this discussion before - at this point I always tell you that altering things would feel like erasing the struggle actual people went through. It wouldn't be right."

"I know how you feel about this, but I still would really like for you to come along," Picard insisted. "I've told everyone about you, they all want to meet you."

"You told them that I'm an _associate_ of yours."

"Yes, but only because I respect your feelings about not wanting to alter the program."

Alex folded his arms across his chest. "Tell me.... what do you think the unaltered inhabitants of 1942 San Francisco would say if they knew that Dixon Hill is married to a _man_?"

"They would be shocked at first, I'll grant you that. But I honestly can't imagine any of Dixon Hill's friends reacting negatively."

"You might be surprised."

Picard folded his arms across his chest as well. "We'll never find out if we don't try, now will we?"

"The _last_ thing I need is a dosage of long-forgotten human homophobia," Alex retorted.

"I'm not looking forward to experiencing this either, which is precisely why I would prefer to adjust the program to 24th century standards."

"But isn't that like erasing a problem just because you don't want to deal with it? The people back then _did_ have to deal with it, you know."

"Alexander, there are many programs that are set in Earth's past but have been adjusted to 24th century standards."

"And no one seems to think of this kind of thing as a problem. Well, _I_ do."

"Actually, you're not the only one. Captain Sisko had similar concerns about the Las Vegas Lounge program on Deep Space Nine. For him, it was an issue of skin color, not sexual orientation, but I still imagine that his arguments were rather similar to yours."

"How do you know that?"

"Quark mentioned it to me during our last visit - he and I talked briefly while you went to get the particularly potent cocktail replicator specs Vic Fontaine had prepared for you."

"What exactly did he say?"

"Not much, he only mentioned that it took them quite a while to get Captain Sisko to visit that particular program."

"What made Sisko change his mind?"

"His wife convinced him to give it a chance."

"And I guess that's why you think that, since you're my husband and also very convincing, _I_ will change _my_ mind, too...?"

"Possibly...?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "Alright... I'll take a look. But please... let's not alter anything yet, okay?"

"Okay."

 

 

**********

 

 

"You really think this is an appropriate outfit?"

Picard looked at his husband, who was wearing a black fedora, a black suit, a gray shirt, a black tie and black leather shoes.

He smiled and adjusted his own fedora. "More than just appropriate for Dixon Hill's associate... and occasional bodyguard."

"I hope your friends won't be disappointed."

"Alexander, they're holograms."

"So what? A good first impression is always important."

"I can't disagree with that. Don't worry, however - you'll be fine." Picard focused his attention on the closed holodeck door in front of him. "Computer, run program Dixon Hill Seven."

The computer chirped in acknowledgement, the door opened and gave way to a view of a rather unorganized, dusty apartment.

The Picards stepped through the door and it closed behind them immediately. Then it vanished, leaving behind nothing but a light gray wall.

"Is this Dixon's place? What a mess," Alex remarked and shoved a pile of old-fashioned newspapers out of the way.

"I've tried to clean up, but whenever I leave and come back in, everything looks just like this again," Picard said. "I was quite baffled by it until I realized that things are _supposed_ to be this way - it's written in the novels."

"Speaking of which - are we going to play a novel plot?" Alex asked and looked at the dusty books on the even dustier shelf.

"Actually, no. Much like other programs these days, the Dixon Hill series is no longer limited to the plots of the novels. The computer can create new chapters while still remaining in the spirit of the series."

"I guess that's a lot more refreshing than what you had on the Enterprise-D - you don't have to play the same thing over and over again."

"Indeed." Picard walked over to a desk that was covered in sheets of paper. "The characters also develop along with the plot, so, it all remains in a consistent flow."  
  
"Does the computer always place you in Dixon's apartment at first?"

"No, not always."

"So it's random choice?"

"Not necessarily. There might be a reason - in the Dixon Hill universe, the little things sometimes have meaning, sometimes they don't."

"In other words - you never know when a cigar is just a cigar," Alex concluded. "Well then, I guess we -"

A loud knock on the door interrupted him. "Dix? You there?"

The Picards looked at it. "Who's that?" Alex asked.

"That would be Detective Jason McNary, my trusted police friend. - Come in!"

The door opened, the detective walked in and stopped dead in his tracks when he realized that 'Dixon Hill' was not alone. "Oh... sorry, Dix. Didn't know you had a visitor."

"That's alright," Picard said cheerfully. "Jason, meet Alexander, my... associate."

McNary looked at the bartender. "So _you_ are the mysterious stranger Dix has been telling us about."

"I am," Alex confirmed.

"What exactly does 'associate' mean?"

"Something between bodyguard and business partner."

"Sounds like a challenge to me - I hope Dix is paying you enough."

"Actually, he isn't paying me _anything_."

McNary shook his head. "How stupid of me to ask... how can he pay you, he's always broke. - How long have you two known each other?"

"Several years."

"Really? How did you manage to stay alive? With a friend like Dix you sure don't need any enemies."

Picard cleared his throat.

McNary raised his hands and looked at him. "Sorry."

"How about you tell us what brings you here?" Picard suggested.

"Oh. Right." McNary sat down on the couch and coughed when a small cloud of dust ended up in his face. "Geez, Dix, your apartment looks worse than ever. You really need a woman in your life."

Alex raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Picard caught his husband's glance but quickly focused his attention on McNary again. "So, you're here to talk about intimate relationships."

"Of course not." McNary pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his nose. "I'm here because one of Redblock's men was found dead last night."

"That isn't unusual," Picard remarked and put his hands in the pockets of his suit.

"No, but what _is_ unusual is that all the other major players in this city have perfect alibis: They're all in Vegas at some kind of conference - or so they call it."

"Then one of their men must've acted on his own."

"Nah." McNary put the handkerchief back in his pocket. "You know how much Redblock's buddies hate it when somebody stirs up unnecessary trouble with the cops. We think it's more likely that someone's trying to frame them."

"Who?"

"We don't know - that's where _you_ come in. You have connections we cops can only dream of."

"You want _me_ to help you? Does Bell know?"

"Bell was the one who assigned me to this case," McNary said. "Guess he's _that_ desperate."

"I don't understand."

"He's got quite a lot at stake with this one. There've been rumors about a promotion and a possible job in LA for him- but, naturally, only if he solves this case."

"In other words, if I help you we'll get rid of him," Picard concluded.

"That's right."

Picard took his hands out of his pockets. "Very well, then.... do you have any leads so far?"

"You should probably start with Rex. He says one of his customers saw something, but he sure as hell won't tell _me_ what it is. He's asking for _you_."

"Then we should go and see him." Picard began to walk towards the door.

McNary stood up from the couch. "I wish I could. Bell might have assigned me to this case but he still would have my head if he found out that I asked for your help."

Picard made a face. "Alright, then you go back to pretending that you're on your own while Alexander and I go and talk to Rex."

McNary smiled sheepishly. "I really appreciate this, Dix."

Picard returned the smile. "No problem, Jason. What are friends for?"


	3. Chapter 3

The rather dark bar certainly looked like as if it had seen better days - thick cigarette smoke was hanging in the air and the wooden chairs and tables were old and dusty. Despite that, Alex could not deny that the combination of these elements created its own nostalgic charm. Sure, his Eleven Forward was superior (and cleaner) in every possible way, but for some reason Alex suddenly found himself... fascinated.

The man behind the bar who was busy with cleaning a small glass looked exactly like the type of bartender one would expect in a bar like this: Dirty shirt, greasy hair that had been combed back and a mustache that made him look much older than he actually was.

"Dix!" he exclaimed when he saw who had come in. "Long time no see!"

"Hello Rex," Picard said and walked up to the bar, Alex directly behind him.

"Come on, sit down." Only now did Rex notice Alex. "Who we got here?"

Picard sat down. "This is Alexander, my associate and occasional bodyguard. Alexander, this is Rex."

Alex sat down as well and raised his hand. "Hey."

"Hey. Bodyguard, huh? What do _you_ need a bodyguard for, Dix?" Rex froze for a second and then shook his head. "Never mind. Forgot who I was talking to." He put the glass down and reached for a bottle next to him on the counter. "Want a Scotch?"

"Of course."

Rex looked at Alex. "And you?"

"Nothing, thanks."

"Alright." Rex poured a small amount of Scotch into the glass he had just cleaned and then shoved it over to Picard, who immediately took a sip. "Want a smoke, too? Just got new ones in."

"No, I would much rather hear about what you can tell me about the murder," Picard said. "McNary told me you wanted to see me about it...?"

Rex made a face. "If I tell you, I want you to promise to keep my name out of it. Remember what happened the last time you and I got caught up in something?"

"You almost went to jail."

"Exactly. That's why you're gonna keep my sheet clean this time, okay?"

"Okay."

Rex leaned forward. "Rumor has it that the guy who murdered Redblock's man was wearing a mask."

"A mask?" Picard echoed. "That's unusual."

"The body was found at night, but the actual murder took place during the day, so, the mask was necessary."

"Mask or not - this still seems like a rather risky thing to do."

"And that's not all that's strange: Our risk-taking guy also dropped a wallet."

"Wallet?"

"Uh-huh. Seems like as if he wanted for it to be found. There was nothing in it - except for a small note." Rex took a step back and began to rummage through a cardboard box below the counter until he found what he had been looking for. Then he pulled it out and held it up. "This one."

Picard took the note and read it. "One by one, Redblock's army will be done."

Rex looked around nervously, but none of the other few customers even glanced at them.

"That's rather bad poetry," Picard remarked.

"Yeah... I thought so, too."

"And no one has any idea about who's behind all this?"

Rex shook his head. "No. I haven't even heard any rumors, and I hear pretty much everything that happens in this part of the city."

"Hmm. May I keep this note?"

"Sure, as long as you don't ask where I got it."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Picard quickly drank the rest of the Scotch and then shoved the empty glass back to Rex. "Thank you - for both the information and the drink."

Rex raised his index finger. "One's on the house." He pointed at the glass. "The other one's not."

"Oh. Of course." Picard reached inside the pocket of his trench coat, pulled out a few coins and put them on the counter.

"Gee, Dix, I'm shocked - you can actually pay your bar bill for once?"

 

***********

 

Alex leaned against the wall of the house in front of which he and Picard were standing, both looking at the note in Picard's hands. "Now, what do we do?"

"I believe the note itself is the key," Picard said and pointed at a small red dot on its left side. "This piece of paper is from a menu sheet from my favorite restaurant here."

"How can you tell?"

"The paper. It's thicker than normal paper and the red dot is actually part of a J. The restaurant is called Jasmine's."

"Jasmine's, huh?" Alex echoed. "Sounds like a rather sexy place."

Picard cleared his throat. "Well..."

"Let me see... Madeline - your secretary, right? And then there's this Ruby lady you've told me about, the one you never take the time for... and now there's also a Jasmine. Are you enjoying your own personal Dixon Hill holodeck harem?"

"It's not a harem," Picard retorted grumpily. "I can assure you, all I've ever done on the holodeck is being the perfect gentleman."

"Of course," Alex said, smiling. "I was just teasing. I know you're not the type who needs holograms to have fun."

Picard made a face.

Alex laughed and put his hand on his husband's shoulder. "Now that this has been settled... don't we have a case to solve?"


	4. Chapter 4

 

The restaurant looked more or less just like Alex had imagined it: The wooden tables and chairs had not been set up all over the place but in separate booths that made it impossible for anyone to take too close a look. In the back of the restaurant was a huge staircase, and it didn't take much of an imagination to figure out what went on upstairs. There were no guests, however - this restaurant conducted its 'business' in the evenings.

"Dix! What a nice surprise!" The voice that had come from somewhere near the staircase was one of the most seductive ones that Alex had ever heard - and it was a perfect match for its owner: A very attractive woman with long brown hair, even longer legs and a red dress that revealed a lot more than it hid.

"Hello Jasmine," Picard said and took off his fedora.

The woman quickly walked up to him and kissed his cheek. "It's been so long, Dix! You really should come here more often - food's always on the house for you!" She shot a seductive glance at him. "And everything else as well... if you can ever make the time, that is."

Picard smiled nervously. "Thank you, Jasmine."

Only now did she seem to notice that 'Dix' wasn't alone. "Who's your rather attractive friend here?"

"This is Alexander, my business associate and occasional bodyguard." Picard extended his arm. "Alexander, this is Jasmine."

"Nice to meet you," Jasmine smiled, walked over to Alex and stopped only inches away from his face. " _Very_ nice."

Alex simply looked at her.

"Can't you talk or did I make you speechless?" Jasmine asked and put her hand on Alex' shoulder.

The young man glanced at it. "I only talk when I feel there's a need to do so."

Jasmine took her hand off his shoulder and ran her finger across his cheek. "That's alright - I can give a man like you a _lot_ of need to talk."

"Jasmine?" Picard interrupted. "We're not here for your services... I actually need some information from you."

"Too bad." She turned away from Alex and focused her attention on Picard again. "What is it, Dix?"

Picard reached inside his trench coat pocket and pulled out the note. "Does this paper look familiar to you?"

Jasmine took it and examined it. "Hmm. It's definitely from one of our menu sheets." She looked at a small bar in the corner where a seemingly bored bartender was cleaning glasses. "Tony? When was the last time you changed the menu sheets?"

The bartender looked up. "Last week," he said. "Why?"

"Are they all still there?"

"Yes. I counted them this morning."

"Damn," Picard muttered.

Jasmine shrugged and was just about to give back the note when she froze. "Wait... Tony, didn't you tell me about a soaked menu the day before yesterday?"

Tony nodded. "Yes, right. That. Some goon knocked over his glass of wine. Went all over it."

"Did you fix it?"

"I tried, but in the end I had to replace it all."

"What did you do with the soaked sheets?"

"I threw them in the trash outside."

"When?"

"Yesterday morning." The bartender frowned. "Why, what's wrong?"

"That would fit," Picard whispered to Alex.

"Nothing, nothing." Jasmine handed the note back to Picard. "Trash's not been picked up yet, it's all still outside." She smiled seductively. "I hope I could help?"

"You've been _very_ helpful," Picard confirmed.

Jasmine smiled an even more seductive smile. "Then I'm not under arrest?"

"No, you're not. I couldn't arrest you anyway, however."

"That's a shame." She leaned forward in order to reveal more of her rather impressive cleavage. "I don't think I'd offer a lot of resistance if you decided to arrest me, Dix." She leaned forward even more, her lips getting closer and closer to his -

"That's enough," Alex blurted out and shoved himself between the two of them.

"My, my - aren't we the jealous one? You and I have only just met," Jasmine complained.

Alex glared at her. "You're _not_ my ty-"

"Thanks again, Jasmine," Picard interrupted quickly and briefly touched Alex' shoulder in a reassuring gesture. "We'll see what we can find in the trash outside. Can we use the backdoor?"

"Of course. But please, tell me you'll both be back...?"

"As soon as we can," Picard promised (not very sincerely) and put on his fedora before he and Alex walked up to the backdoor and out.

 

***********

 

Picard closed the backdoor, walked up to the first trash can and took off its lid. "Oh, no... this is not going to be pleasant. Could you help me? We can look through these much faster that way."

Alex remained where he was.

Picard looked at him. "Alexander...?"

"You really think I'm gonna overlook the fact that this woman just basically shoved her breasts into your face _and_ would have kissed you on the lips if I hadn't intervened?"

"What?"

"You heard me."

"She's a hologram, written and programmed that way. I can't help it."

"You certainly didn't seem to mind."

Picard sighed. "This is exactly what I was afraid of." He let go of the trash can. "If you had allowed me to re-adjust this program to 24th century standards, we would not be having this conversation. I would have introduced you as my husband and Jasmine would not have acted in this manner."

"Are you kidding me? That woman would not back away from _any_ man, no matter who he's married to."

"What would you have had me do, then?" Picard demanded.

"You could have been a little less friendly, for one thing...?"

"I needed her help, in case you forgot," Picard shot back. "If I had been as icy as _you_ were, she would not have lifted a finger!"

"Flirting with the ladies gets you anywhere in this program, huh?"

Picard leaned against the trash can. "Alexander, you mustn't forget that, in this world, I'm Dixon Hill, not Jean-Luc Picard. You've read the Dixon Hill novels, you know that he was written to be a bit of a ladies' man, and -"

"I know, I know. Still - imagine some sexy half-naked guy walking up to me like that and shoving his junk into my fa-"

" _Alexander_...!"

"See?"

Picard took a deep breath. "Let's not argue about this... please?"

Alex raised his hands. "I'm right with you. Just saying that this whole thing went a little too far for my taste."

"I understand your feelings, but I can assure you, I was only this friendly to Jasmine because I want to solve this case."

"We _both_ want that."

Picard looked at the trash cans. "Then let's get to it, shall we?"

**********

 

Alex made a face. "What makes you think we'll find anything in these trash cans? And why can't we turn off the holodeck smell function for a while?"

"We're looking for clues, and I have no other lead than this," Picard replied without even looking up from his trash can. "As for the smell function, turning it off would make things rather artificial, don't you think?"

" _Artificial_?" Alex echoed. "What the fu-"

Picard frowned. "Wait... I think I found something." He rummaged some more and then pulled out something that resembled soaked menu sheets - but that wasn't all there was, and when the Picards realized what he was holding in his hand and what it meant, they stared at it in utter amazement.


	5. Chapter 5

 

Lieutenant Dan Bell was _not_ having a good time. First he had found out that McNary had hired that snake Dixon Hill behind his back, and then he had only just now ended a rather heated phone conversation with Gillian, who had once more pulled the divorce threat card. And, to top it all off, it was way past seven already - he didn't even want to know how many extra hours he had spent in this godforsaken office. Hundreds? Sure felt like thousands.

"Just a few more weeks of this, Dan", he muttered to himself, reached inside his suit's pocket, pulled out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat off his forehead - why was it always so hot in here, anyway?

And then he heard it: Voices from outside his office.  

"You can't go in there!" That was Eleanore, his secretary, the only other person who stayed as late as he did.

"Sorry, but we have some urgent business to discuss," another voice said and Bell frowned when he recognized it.

Hill? What the hell was _he_ doing here?

The door to the office was suddenly slammed open and in marched Dixon Hill, followed by a young man in a black suit who had been holding the door open for him. Right - word on the streets was that Hill had gotten himself a bodyguard or something.

Well, he'd _need_ one.

"What is this?" Bell demanded, stood up from his chair and assumed his most threatening stance.

"I'm sorry, sir, I couldn't stop them!" Eleanore chimed in from behind.

Bell waved his hand. "It's alright, El. Just leave us alone, okay?"

"Very well," she snarled, glared at both intruders and then walked out of the office, slamming the door shut behind her.

"What do you want, Hill?" Bell asked in his most impatient voice - no need to make this rat and his friend feel welcome.

"Your attention," Hill replied and pointed at the chair in front of Bell's desk. "May I?"

"Be my guest."

He sat down and Bell did the same while Hill's young bodyguard assumed a position right next to Hill's chair. He didn't seem physically threatening, and yet... the way in which he was looking at Bell was more than just unnerving.

The police lieutenant focused his attention back on his more talkative guest. "You know, Hill, I hope all of this is worth the trouble you'll be in for disrupting police station proceedings."

"I don't think that will be a problem," Hill said calmly, leaned back and crossed his legs.

"And why the hell not?"

Hill smiled pleasantly. "Because, when we're finished here, _you_ will be the one charged with disrupting police station proceedings."

"What?"

The private detective reached inside his suit's pocket and pulled out a small item - and when Bell realized what it was, his heart sank.

' _It can't be! It's right he-_ ' He froze when he realized that, in a subconscious effort, his hand had reached inside his own suit's inner pocket... only to find it empty.

Hill held up the police ID. "Looking for this?"

Bell said nothing.

"My associate here and I found it in a trash can behind Jasmine's restaurant. Strange, huh?"

Bell bit his lower lip - he was beaten, yes, but maybe not yet defeated. "You could have found it anywhere."

"Oh but there's something on it," Hill said and pointed at one of the ID's corners that had a dark brown spot on it.  "This looks like dried blood to me. To you, too?"

"So what?" Bell huffed, trying to make his voice sound steady.

Hill leaned forward. "Blood was also all over a few menu sheets that we found in the same trash can. The sheets were on top of a shirt that we found under them - it's rather drenched, but we could still make out the name inside its collar. Yours, Bell."

"That's ridiculous. Why would I have blood on my shirt and why would I throw it away behind Jasmine's restaurant?"

"Because you killed Cyrus Redblock's trusted employee of the month. And you also wrote a note on a piece of menu sheet that you conveniently found in the trash can when you were about to throw away your shirt that had gotten a bit messy. Your mistake was that you forgot to check the corners of the sheet you were using - it still had parts of a letter on it. That's how I was able to make the connection to Jasmine's restaurant. Your next pile of bad luck was that the trash cans had not been emptied yet when my partner and I went to check on what was in them."

"I've never killed anybody," Bell insisted.

Hill waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "Oh I think you _did_. You hate your job, Bell. It's not a secret. And - you wanted to make sure that your upcoming promotion goes through, and for that you needed to solve a _really_ big case. And what better way of solving a case than by creating it yourself? Your note was supposed to make us believe that another gang was after Redblock and his men - the investigation into that would have given you enough time to stage a few more murders and then to make sure someone gets caught with just enough evidence in their pockets to convict them. You'd have caught that person, of course, and then you'd have been able get out of here once and for all."

Bell felt new sweat pouring down his face. "What... what do you want, Hill?"

"Nothing." Hill stood up. "Only justice."

_'Don't let him leave, Dan!'_

"Come on, I know you always need money," Bell hissed. "I can get you a lot of it. I have access to -"

"Alright, that's enough," a voice suddenly sounded from inside the closet in the corner. Its door that had not been fully closed opened - and McNary stepped out. "Admitting a murder through attempted bribery... I'm afraid this is a very good basis for an immediate arrest. Sir."

Bell stared at the three men in front of him.

It had all been a trap - and he had stepped right into it.

 

  
***********

 

 

Picard put his feet on his - or rather, Dixon Hill's - desk and looked at Alex, who was sitting on it, reading from a newspaper that the two of them had just gotten from Joe down the street after they had asked the computer to fast forward the program a few hours.

"Following his arrest late last night, Lieutenant Dan Bell admitted to murdering Robert Duff, who, at the time of his death, was employed by Cyrus Redblock." Alex put down the newspaper. "It all turned out exactly the way you predicted."

"It did, didn't it?" Picard adjusted his fedora. "And that's another case solved by Dixon Hill - with the help of his business associate and bodyguard, of course."

"I didn't do much - I mostly just glared at people."

"Sometimes that's enough. You definitely made Bell even more nervous than he already was."

Alex looked around in the office. "You know, I could almost get used to this place. It sure never gets boring here."

Picard chuckled, stood up and walked up to the window in order to peek through the shutters. "It's very fascinating indeed, but in the end I think I prefer the Enterprise."

Alex jumped off the desk, walked over to his husband and put his arms around him from behind. "I'm almost tempted to be incredibly cheesy now and say that it doesn't matter where we are as long as we're together."

Picard smiled. "Does this mean you're going to come here with me again?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."


End file.
